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In aftermath of the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, the Oakenfeld family is scared. The oldest daughter, Susan, normally a BBC junkie, is banned from watching any news and before long she and her brothers, Charles and Murray, are sent off to live in Canada with their Uncle Farley. Uncle Farley's home is a large, rambling estate, Drift House, situated on the Bay of Eternity. Yet from the moment they arrive, the Oakenfeld children feel that there is something just a bit off with the whole place, and the cook and caretaker who somehow manage to do all their work entirely unseen is only the least of it. Their impressions are confirmed when the next morning, they find that house has drifted off to sea. Yet instead of floating into the Bay of Eternity, they find themselves instead on The Sea of Time, uncontrolled and drifting dangerously close to The Great Drain.

What can I say about this book. I was thoroughly delighted by every moment. I listened to this with my boys, and the narrator Richard Poe only enhanced my enjoyment. This story was a grand adventure, sure to capture the imagination of boys, girls, and adults alike, with a full cast of characters ranging from a talking whale, fierce pirates, and mermaids. It had just the right amount of intersection between reality and fantasy without resorting to the outlandish. The Oakenfeld children were quirky, but not so much as to be unbelievable. And the fantastical creatures and people who populated the Sea of Time, were just that fantastical and complex. The plotting moved at a very good pace for a children's novel and yet their was enough to keep an adult interested as well.

Before seeing this book on the shelf at my library, I had never heard it mentioned before. That is a shame, because it was a well-written and engaging novel. The adventure will grab a child's imagination from the start. And for the parent, it serves as a way to start a conversation with your child about what happened on September 11th, 2001. It has the potential to be both a teaching tool and a fantastical escape. I think this definitely puts it in a special class of novels. ( )

The reviews I've read of Drift House by Dale Peck either ignore the World Trade Center destruction or gloss it over. Regardless, it is the grim starting point of the book and the loss of life is one of the dominant themes of the book. It is also a pirate tale full of derring-do and time travel.

The book begins with Susan and her brothers, Charles and Murray, being driven to Canada from their home in Manhattan. Their mother wants them out of the city until she feels it is safe again for them to return. Although they never speak of the attacks in a direct manner, Susan, as the oldest, is well aware of what has happened. Their flight north, much like the evacuation of the children in WWII at the start of The Magic Bed Knob by Mary Norton, leaves the oldest children with a good sense of how much danger the remaining parents may very well be in.

Susan reminds me a lot of Wendy Darling in that she both wants adventure but also wants to protect her younger brothers. Where Wendy is brought on board to be the mother of Captain Hook's pirates, Susan, briefly gets to captain her own ship. She also has to save her brothers and uncle from some treacherous mermaids.

Susan is the brave sibling. Charles is the clever one. But Murray is extraordinary. He starts as just another annoying youngest sibbling but goes on to have the most amazing and sometimes heartbreaking growth as a character.

I listened to the audio version of the book, performed by Richard Poe. He brings the characters to life and there were times I had to pause the book when I was getting too emotionally caught up in the story. ( )

It starts right after 9/11 in NYC, but quickly moves into the territory of magic. Three children, Susan, Charles and Murray are adrift and at sea in more than one fashion. The ways they cope with the strange and unfathomable happenings, as well as Peck's wonderful writing style, kept me turning pages well into the night. This book had me biting my lip trying to stay awake to finish one more page in the wee small hours, and when I finally gave up, it followed me into my dreams. I can't remember the last book that's made me so intensely a participant. The Drift House recaptures the spirit of some of my favorite books from childhood- the L'Engle books (can Charles Wallace Murray be far from the boys named Charles and Murray, one of whom is very scientific and one very wise?) in particular. The way Peck explains why events seem to be rushing so fast past us in these times is brilliant. ( )

Three siblings, Susan, Charles, and Murray, has to go to their Uncle Farley's house who lives at The Drift House. Uncle Farley is kind of weird. He studies the nature of time and hates electronic things especially TV. At first the kids were very apprehensive about staying here, but soon they find really strange things about the house. For one thing, The Drift House is crooked, a mysterious person seems to be serving Uncle Farley, but clearly doesn't exist, a painting shows all of them on the house, and a small radio plays without being plugged in.

After Charles and Susan ditch Murray to find out the mysteries of the house, they get caught and lost Murray. They find him in the dumbwaiter and he seems to have knowledge of the future. Then mermaids come to The Drift House and beg Susan to help her save another mermaid Ula Lu La Lu who's lost and captured in the Sea of Time, the sea that transports them to any place or time that has or will ever exist. But sinister forces become apparent, and Susan Charles, and Murray are whisked into one great adventure. ( )